


Better Left in the Great Unknown

by midas_touch_of_angst



Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events - One Shots [11]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV), A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket, All the Wrong Questions - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:27:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23164726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midas_touch_of_angst/pseuds/midas_touch_of_angst
Summary: The Inhumane Society lost the second batch of Bombinating Beasts. The tadpoles, only just given their first growth enhancers, were first shoved into a crowded tank in the back of a car, and then the back of a van, and then a truck. And then in a police chase, the truck crashed into a river. The tadpoles who survived the impact escaped into the water. Several were eaten by fish who were going to be very sick later, some were unable to adjust to the new environment and strong currents and ended up floating up, bashed against the rocks.Only one made it somewhere safe.
Relationships: Beatrice Baudelaire & The Great Unknown | The Bombinating Beast, Beatrice Baudelaire & The Incredibly Deadly Viper, Beatrice Baudelaire/Bertrand Baudelaire, Bertrand Baudelaire & The Great Unknown | The Bombinating Beast, Bertrand Baudelaire & The Incredibly Deadly Viper, The Incredibly Deadly Viper & The Great Unknown | The Bombinating Beast
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events - One Shots [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542739
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Better Left in the Great Unknown

The Inhumane Society was making their second batch of Bombinating Beasts when they fell apart. 

The first batch had not had a good survival rate. What with all the transporting from headquarters to headquarters, the testing of what foods they could and couldn’t eat, and the times that two in the same tank would get angry and rip each other apart for no reason, only one of them made it to what they believed to be young adulthood, big enough to fit in the firepond. Thankfully, they had some growth enhancement drugs, so they only had to wait a few months. 

They wondered, sometimes, if the drugs worked mentally as well as physically. If the Bombinating Beast had grown into an adult’s brain, cognitive process, and mental state once it was big enough to call a _physical_ adult, or if it was only a few months old, still confused and bumbling about the world trying to find its place.

The organization fell apart before they could find out. Hangfire was dead, the extorted members fled, and the one adult Beast disappeared into the Clusterous Forest. Any remaining members scattered before the law could catch up to them- they’d hoped they’d be able to remain secretive, but unfortunately three librarians on a crashed train found the courage to speak, a courage brought by the horror of what they’d seen and the desire to defend a girl who was innocent of murder. So the organization was discovered and had to scatter. 

In the haste, they lost the second batch of Beasts. The tadpoles, only just given their first growth enhancers, were first shoved into a crowded tank in the back of a car, and then the back of a van, and then a truck. And then in a police chase, the truck crashed into a river. The tadpoles who survived the impact escaped into the water. Several were eaten by fish who were going to be very sick later, some were unable to adjust to the new environment and strong currents and ended up floating up, bashed against the rocks. 

Only one made it somewhere safe. 

It was the smartest one of the group, the Inhumane Society would’ve loved it if it had not outlived them. It was in the water for a while, finding new food- it decided it didn’t quite like meat as much as its siblings, better eat those little plants that float around it. It ran from all conflict, after seeing how fast the other beasts had been eaten up by stronger, fiercer fish, which turned out to be to its advantage- it ended up being very good at hiding. 

The growth enhancements kicked in, though they worked a bit slower since it had only been given one batch. The drugs would wear off soon, too, only lasting long enough to make the tadpole a bit bigger, a bit longer, and able to survive on land. Only problem was it made it a lot harder to hide, what with it not fitting into its old places anymore and sometimes underestimating how long it was and getting tangled in seaweed. 

When it figured out it could breathe air, it floated to the surface, looking around. No land in sight. It hadn’t even known there was a place without land, enough water that no tank was needed to keep it alive. It wondered why it had a tank if there was something like this out there. 

It swam along the surface for a while, learning about birds and insects, the latter of which scared it a little, and watching as clouds grew heavy and grey and then poured more water into the ocean. It felt good as it hit its head, dappling it and making it feel like someone was stroking it, telling it that they were there for it and going to protect it. It was something that it had never experienced as a tadpole, nor in the river, but something it knew instinctively it wanted. 

After a long time of swimming, only diving under to snag some plants to eat or escape what looked like a shark, it spotted land. It smiled a little and let out a happy noise it hadn’t before- like a hiss, feeling like what humans would call a giggle. It swam its way over, fascinated as it made its way to the surface of the sand, crawling up as its legs had not grown, and would not for decades now that the drugs had gone. It had never felt sand before, or seen trees quite like those. 

It slithered for a while, moving into the foliage, edging among the low bushes to try and see if there was something alive here. It was curious and a little lonely, and it hadn’t had anything interact with it kindly since its siblings had all perished in the terrible sea. 

Finally, it did find someone. A couple walked by, the woman hanging on the man’s arm and laughing at something he had said. It watched them a moment, a little nervous, and a little confused. It had never seen humans smile in a way that made it feel good, and it had never seen them interact romantically. The woman’s stomach protruded ever-so-slightly, and the young beast smelled the air hesitantly, trying to catch a telling scent- yes, there it was, she’d lay eggs in a little while. Humans laid eggs, right? 

The woman stopped, as if sensing it, and turned her head towards the bushes it was hiding in. She said something quietly to her partner, who also looked worriedly towards the area. 

Carefully, the young beast slithered out, blinking up at them. It wasn’t sure what to expect- humans tended to react to it with either a blank scientific curiosity, disgust, or sometimes fear. These two looked more surprised, then curious, but a different kind of curious than it was used to. 

The woman knelt down, and it came over. Her partner let out a warning, but she just smiled as it slithered up and down her shoulders, trying to get a feel for her. 

“Look, Bertrand, it’s hugging me.” the woman laughed. The young beast understood some human language, though it didn’t know ‘hug.’ It would learn soon. 

“It could be dangerous.” 

“I don’t think so. It seems friendly. What’s your name, little one?” 

The young beast, now wrapping around her arm, tilted its head in confusion as she spoke those words. 

“No name, huh?” She reached her other hand over, petting its scales. It paused a moment, confused, and then made a pleased noise, pressing its head against her palm. 

The man knelt beside it, too, and started stroking its dark scales. “Seems like an ‘Ink,’ what do you think?” 

“Inky.” the woman nodded, and Inky liked the sound of that word. 


End file.
